The Magic School Bus Meets Molly Cule
Field Trip Notes
When Wanda's favorite singer, Molly Cule, comes to town, she chooses Ms. Frizzle's class to wash her famous car. The kids clean the car top to bottom, but Molly insists they missed a spot. Only when they shrink small enough to see molecules can they clean the car down to the very last bit - but time is running out, and they need a molecular miracle to get the job done before Molly's concert begins.
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Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Going Hands-On
Time: 50 minutes
Group Size: 4
Ralphie discovers that soap and water slip grease and grime away because of the special characteristics of soap molecules. Your kids investigate some characteristics of oil, water, and soap.
What You Need
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- Dishpan of water
- Paper towels
- Liquid detergent
- Copies of MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER page
- 2 tumblers of water
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon liquid detergent
- Spoon
Talk About It
Pass around samples of oil, water, and liquid soap. Ask: What are some characteristics of water? Oil? Soap? List responses. Ask: Do the teeniest-tiniest bits (molecules) of these things determine these properties? (yes)
What To Do
- Let kids touch the substances. Ask: How do they feel? Is how they feel a characteristic? (yes)
- Have kids dip a finger in oil and then try to rinse it off with water alone. Ask: Does the oil come off? Hocould we remove it?
- During the activity, students will discover that soap and water mix, while oil floats on top of water. Challenge kids: Can you mix oil and water? Record kids’ ideas. If possible, let them experiment with some of their ideas.
- After kids add soap to the oil and water, ask: What did the soap do to the oil and water? (Soap mixes oil and water because on end of the soap molecule is water-loving, while the other clings to oil. Stirring in soap creates a cloudy suspension of tiny oil droplets surrounded by soap molecules - an emulsion.)
- Ask: Why do soap and water clean oil and grime? (The oil-loving end of the soap molecule surrounds and lifts the oil; water rinses it away.)
Next Stop
Draw timelines of the kids’ rocks. Decide on a time scale, and let kids give their ideas for: where their rock was a very long time ago and what it looked like; where it was found; where it will be and how it will look a long time in the future.
- Teacher Store
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The Magic School Bus®: The Magic School Bus® and the Science Fair Expedition
The Teacher Store 
The Magic School Bus®: The Magic School Bus® and the Science Fair Expedition
by Joanna Cole and Bruce DegenField trips have a whole new meaning since the indomitable Ms. Frizzle entered the world! Her students gets a ?bird?s eye? view of the inside of bodies, hurricanes, and water works - things and places they couldn?t dream of are revealed from the inside out in these stories that are jammed full of science and fun.
$6.99
Paperback Book | Grades 3-5
Grades 3-5 $6.99
- Scholastic Store
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Magic School Bus Going Green Science Kit
The Scholastic Store 
Magic School Bus Going Green Science Kit
Soar into Science aboard The Magic School Bus!
$19.95
Ms. Frizzle and her students take Young Scientists on a wild ride by going green with experiments and activities that can Save our Earth! Young Scientists recreate the water cycle, build a compost tube, shrink plastic, magically make packing peanuts disappear, decompose food with fungus, form pulp, create new paper, design recycled paper shapes, learn about the 3 R's, and much, much more! Seatbelts, everyone!
Note to parents:
We recommend that all experiments be performed under adult supervision.
toys and games;science kits;science kits and projects | Ages 6-10
Ages 6-10 $19.95
LESSON PLAN
UNIT PLAN
